A STRANGE AND STEAMY FOUR-DAY TRIAL DESTROYS THE 30-YEAR CAREER OF FAMED SPORTSCASTER MARV ALBERT

In a far more innocent time, Marvin Aufrichtig would stage what he called "the Hamster Olympics" at the family home in Brooklyn. Marv, an aspiring sportscaster, would do the play-by-play as his hamsters competed against one another in a series of events. Their names were Ambrose and Zachary.

Last week the hamster in the wheel was Marv Albert. The sportscaster had started it spinning, to be sure, but the wheel, further propelled by justice and journalism, picked up so much speed that the former Marvin Aufrichtig just had to get off. On Thursday afternoon, in a bizarre end to a bizarre...